MOSCOW, 15 DecThe share of the oil and gas sector in GDP has decreased, in this sense the economy has become less dependent on this industry, but a return to the budget rule is also important, said the head of the regulator, Elvira Nabiullina.
“The share of the oil and gas sector in GDP has decreased both due to a reduction in oil production, especially gas, and due to growth in other sectors, that is, in this sense, we can say that the dependence has become less significant in our economy… The budget rule has been functioning for the last two years, but not in its final form, and we therefore believe that gradual fiscal normalization is very important,” she said at a press conference on Friday.
Nabiullina noted that when it comes to the dependence of the economy, the budget, the exchange rate on market revenues, on fluctuations in oil prices and the market situation in general, on the demand for oil and gas, then one of the mechanisms for reducing dependence is the budget rule.
“It was the budget rule that made it possible to protect our economy, budget, and exchange rate from excessive fluctuations,” added the head of the Central Bank.
In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law returning to the calculation of the budget rule based on the base oil price of $60 per barrel.
Before the adoption of the law, the Budget Code determined the volume of basic oil and gas revenues of the federal budget in absolute terms — at the level of 8 trillion rubles with further annual indexation by 4% starting from 2026. The new law provides for a transition to determining basic oil and gas revenues based on a base oil price of $60 per barrel with annual indexation by 2% starting in 2027.